Ido Gomtang 이도곰탕

The building was once a family house, entered either from the parking lot out front or through a wooden-stair gate off the alley. Gomtang, a beef soup, arrives almost as soon as you sit down, already seasoned so it rarely needs salt, under a heap of shredded scallion with a hint of pepper. The rice is cooked a little firm to hold its shape when stirred into the broth. Each bowl comes with rice or rice noodles. Suyuk-jeongol, a sliced beef hot pot, is the drinking-table dish, with jang-guksu noodles added to finish. Seasoned dried pollack sometimes comes out on the house, and the kimchi is well fermented. Prices run above a typical soup-and-rice meal.